Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Fights break out at malls across the country privateofficer.com

BEACHWOOD, Ohio December 27 2016 Fights broke out at malls around the country Monday night sending
shoppers, who were looking for post-holiday deals, scrambling for the
exits.

No one was seriously injured in the mall melees, which, during the panic, also prompted numerous false reports of gunfire.
Police in Ohio told Cleveland.com that officers used
pepper spray to disperse a large crowd following a fight at an upscale
shopping mall in Beachwood, just outside of Cleveland.
A report of shots fired was later determined to be unfounded.
One male juvenile was arrested for allegedly trying
to hit an officer during the incident, which police said appeared to
have been "loosely organized on social media."
There were similar disturbances at malls around the
country including in New York, New Jersey and North Carolina, where
chaos erupted at a mall in Fayetteville and emergency medical personnel
were called in to assist someone who had a medical episode while
fleeing.
In Memphis, Tennessee, police arrested several people
following fights at two malls there. No one was injured and no gunshots
were fired, despite reports indicating otherwise.
"Somebody yelled 'gun!' and youths stampeded through the mall," Deputy Chief Terry Landrum told The Commercial Appeal.
Police in Aurora, Colorado, near Denver, evacuated a mall due to multiple skirmishes.
The trouble reportedly began during an arrest when an unruly crowd surrounded the scene.
Aurora police spokesman Sgt. Chris Amsler said that
as the suspect was being taking into custody, the crowd, which
mushroomed in size to about 500 people, advanced on the officer and
fights broke out. Five juveniles were arrested. No one was hurt.
In Aurora, Illinois, outside of Chicago, a mall there
was temporarily shut down due to a large disturbance. Videos posted on
Twitter showed mall security trying to get the situation under control.

There was no
official word on whether any of the fights, which were also reported in
Arizona, Texas, Indiana and Connecticut, were connected.